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Angels’ José Marte Shut Down For Four Weeks With Stress Reaction In Elbow

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The Angels informed reporters, including Sam Blum of The Athletic and Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, that right-hander José Marte has a stress reaction in his right elbow. He’ll be shut down for the next four weeks at least. The good news is that testing showed his ulnar collateral ligament is not damaged.

Marte, 27 in June, came over to the Angels from the Giants in the July 2021 Tony Watson trade and was selected to their roster shortly thereafter. Since then, he’s served as a frequently-optioned depth arm for the club. He’s posted an unsightly 7.80 ERA in the majors so far, though that’s in a small sample of just 15 innings. He also has a 5.73 ERA in the minors since that trade, striking out 27.6% of batters faced but giving free passes at an unfortunate 14.8% clip.

The righty wasn’t set to be the most essential piece of the bullpen in Anaheim, but it’s a hit to their optionable depth, something valuable to teams over the long haul of a season. It’s also possible that Marte could find some more upside if he can rein in the walks, as Baseball America considered him the club’s #15 prospect at this time a year ago with control the primary concern on his profile. Unfortunately, he’ll now have to wait a while before he can continue his progress.

If there’s a silver lining for the club, it’s that this may allow them to open up a roster spot. Even if Marte is healthy after his four-week shutdown period, he will then need to have a delayed spring ramp-up period to get back into game action. If the club doesn’t think he’ll be back by late May, they could move him to the 60-day injured list, thus freeing up a spot on the 40-man roster. Some of the non-roster invitees in camp include Jake Lamb, Chris Devenski and Jonathan Holder.

Arte Moreno Discusses Ohtani, Luxury Tax, Angels Stadium, Ownership

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In the wake of Arte Moreno’s decision to abandon plans to sell the Angels, the owner has been somewhat uncharacteristically willing to discuss team matters with the media.  Moreno has already spoken with the New York Post’s Jon Heyman in February and Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci over the last month, and today the Halos owner engaged in his first open Q-and-A with Angels beat writers (including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register and The Athletic’s Sam Blum) in over three years.

Today’s media session covered some of the same ground as the Heyman and Verducci interviews, though Moreno did confirm that the team is willing to exceed the luxury tax in order to keep Shohei Ohtani in the fold.  The two-way superstar is scheduled to be a free agent after the 2023 season, and with speculation swirling that Ohtani could command as much as $500MM in his next contract, going beyond the tax threshold would seem like almost a necessity for any team serious about retaining his services.

Since Moreno bought the team almost exactly 20 years ago, the Angels have only once (in 2004) surpassed the Competitive Balance Tax limit.  That said, Anaheim has also spent big to extend or sign the likes of Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Vladimir Guerrero, Anthony Rendon, and several other marquee names, so Moreno is no stranger to paying for premium talent.

The Angels are projected for roughly a $226.7MM tax figure in 2023, under the $233MM CBT threshold.  Moreno was non-committal about the idea of exceeding the tax this season, but said that “if we’re in it at the [All-Star] break, I want to be able to have enough cash to pick up somebody.”  In terms of future CBT commitments, Moreno felt “we really positioned ourselves well” to potentially retain Ohtani, and Moreno noted that “after four [remaining] years for Rendon, we really have no long-term contracts.  So we have to position ourselves and work to put ourselves in a position to have that financial flexibility.”

Having Trout, Rendon, and Ohtani all on the books through the 2026 season (when Rendon’s deal is up) would mean that those three players in all likelihood take up at least half of the Angels’ room under the tax threshold.  That seems to be a bridge Moreno is willing to cross, though quite a bit of work seemingly has to be done before an Ohtani extension becomes a reality.  Moreno said the team hasn’t yet spoken with Ohtani and his camp about future plans, and the owner noted that “Ohtani has to want to be here, too. It’s a two-way street.”

“When we started talking to Mike [Trout], I spent a lot of time with Mike.  I just said, ’You have to make a decision.  This is where you want to be.’  This is where you want your family to be.  We started sitting down with the agent.  And Ohtani, he has to figure out if this is where he wants to be.”

Moreno said that the Angels were likely to spend over 60 percent of their revenues on payroll this season, and the team’s current approximate payroll of $212.1MM is a new club record.  Beyond these expenditures, Moreno said that GM Perry Minasian has “basically an unlimited budget to try and build our minor-league system.  So those guys get cut, and we try to sign minor-league deals with them.  Continue to build the depth.”

Anaheim’s busy offseason was seen as a little bit of a surprise, given how teams seemingly on the verge of being sold are sometimes in a bit of roster limbo until the ownership question is settled.  That said, Moreno took the opposite route, saying that “we never stopped doing anything” despite the talks with potential buyers.  “I was communicating with [Minasian] almost every day….I told him, no matter what happens, I want this team prepared to play and win.  We invested a lot of money.  I wanted to make sure that if I changed my mind that we were, ’OK, go.’ ”

This stance speaks to Moreno’s customary aggressiveness in trying to field a winning team, though obviously those efforts have been in vain through seven consecutive losing seasons.  Moreno denied the common perception that he is too hands-on with his front office’s moves, saying that “every player that we’ve ever signed has been with a discussion of the general manager all the way through….If there’s a decision that Perry wants to sign someone, if we’re going to negotiate and we want to get a deal done, I need to be there because I need to make the call or [else] he’s running back and forth. He and I talk about the money before we make any decision.”

The fact that Moreno approached the offseason thinking he might eventually opt to keep the Angels likely speaks to his reticence about a sale, and his ultimate decision to take the team off the market.  Moreno left the door open to possibly sell a minority share in the club at some point, but “I do not have a successor” in mind as the Halos’ next owner.

The club’s future at Angel Stadium (and perhaps in Anaheim altogether) was also a topic of discussion, given how back in May, the Anaheim city council voted against an agreement that would’ve seen the city sell the 150 acres of land surrounding the ballpark to a Moreno-owned management company.  Moreno said he will soon be meeting with newly-elected Anaheim mayor Ashleigh Aitken “and we’re going to work with that administration” in regards to whatever next steps might come with the ballpark and development situation.

The Angels’ lease at the stadium runs through the 2029 season, and the team can also exercise an option to extend that least through 2038.  Moreno didn’t offer any comment on the idea of a potential move, saying “We’ve been there a long time, and we’ll see what happens.”

Angels, Evan Marshall Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Angels have agreed to a minor league contract with right-handed reliever Evan Marshall, tweets James Fegan of The Athletic. Marshall himself suggested on Twitter last night that he’d signed with the Halos. He’s represented by ISE Baseball.

Marshall, 33 next month, missed the 2022 season recovering from 2021 Tommy John surgery. He enjoyed an excellent run with the White Sox from 2019-20, logging a combined 2.45 ERA with a 23.5% strikeout rate, 10.3% walk rate and 52.3% ground-ball rate in 73 1/3 frames out of the Chicago bullpen. His numbers took a sharp downturn in 2021, however, as Marshall was tagged for a 5.60 ERA in 27 1/3 frames before landing on the injured list and ultimately undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Marshall’s Tommy John procedure came in November 2021, so he should be largely recovered from the procedure. He’ll still need to build up to game readiness after remaining unsigned through the bulk of spring training. An assignment to Triple-A Salt Lake would make sense, speculatively speaking.

In the short-term, there’s not a lot of immediate opportunity in the Anaheim bullpen. The Halos are slated to carry a trio of out-of-options bullpen arms — Jaime Barria, Jose Quijada, Tucker Davidson — and the bulk of their other options are veterans on guaranteed deals who cannot be optioned (Carlos Estevez, Ryan Tepera, Aaron Loup, Matt Moore). Right-handers Jimmy Herget and Andrew Wantz are the only Angels relievers who can be optioned to the minors without first passing through waivers, but they’re both also coming off strong 2022 seasons at the big league level.

Of course, injuries and rough starts to the season are inevitable for any group of pitchers. Either could create an opportunity for Marshall or another veteran who’s with the Angels on a minor league contract. That’s a group that currently includes names like Chris Devenski, Jonathan Holder, Cesar Valdez and Jacob Webb, among others. If Marshall can successfully get back to his pre-Tommy John 2019-20 form, he’d presumably be among the first names up when an opportunity presents itself.

Angels Release Jose Godoy

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The Angels have released catcher Jose Godoy, per the team. Godoy, 28, was signed to a minor league deal by the Angels earlier this offseason after being outrighted by the Pirates in October.

To this point in his career, Godoy has struggled during his limited time in the majors, as he has slashed just .123/.194/.140 in 26 career games in the majors. He’s spent time as a member of the Cardinals, Mariners, Twins, and Pirates organizations prior to his time in Anaheim, and carries a slash line of .272/.351/.366 over ten seasons as a minor leaguer. Given teams’ constant need for upper-level catching depth in the minor leagues, Godoy should certainly find another organization interested in his services on a new minor league deal.

As for the Angels, this move not only indicates belief in their primary catching options of Max Stassi, Logan O’Hoppe, and Matt Thaiss, who expect to combine for the majority of playing time at the position for the major league club this year, but also non-roster invitees Chad Wallach and Anthony Mulrine, who seem poised to be the depth options for the Halos in the event of an injury. If the club had each of those players ahead of Godoy on the organizational depth chart, today’s move may have been the best outcome for Godoy, who could look to sign on with a team thinner at catcher in order to have a clearer shot at big league playing time this season.

Diamond Sports Planning To File For Bankruptcy; MLB Planning To Stream Games For Free Temporarily

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Diamond Sports Group, the corporation that owns 14 Bally Sports regional sports networks, is expected to file for bankruptcy March 17, according to a report from Josh Kosman of The New York Post. The timeline will be awkward for Major League Baseball since the 2023 season opens on March 30, but the league plans to step in and broadcast the games themselves.

It had been reported for some time that Diamond is in financial trouble and they forewent interest payments worth roughly $140MM to creditors last month. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said at that time that the league was monitoring the situation, hoping that Diamond would make its payments but also drawing up contingency plans. It was subsequently reported that the league had hired multiple former RSN executives for a newly-created Local Media department, seemingly to get in position to take over broadcasting duties where necessary.

The problem stems from continued cord-cutting as fewer customers are paying for cable bundles these days, opting instead to use streaming services. That leads to decreased revenue from ad sales and cable contracts, creating situations where RSNs are paying teams more for rights fees than they are able to make back from those revenue streams. Per Kosman’s report, there are at least four teams where Diamond plans to reject the contracts via the bankruptcy proceedings. The teams in question are the Reds, Diamondbacks, Guardians and Padres, with the San Diego deal currently $20MM in the red on an annual basis.

The report goes on to state that MLB’s plan is to take over the local TV broadcasts of those teams, as well as streaming them for free in those local markets as they negotiate lower deals with cable companies. It’s not yet clear if fans in blacked-out markets would be able to access those streams in the short-term. If deals are reached, the league plans to offer over-the-top service for around $15 per month. As Kosman notes, that’s lower than some other streaming deals, with the Red Sox charging $29.99 per month. The league also already tried to acquire the rights to all 14 teams currently controlled by Diamond but were turned down. Those clubs are the Angels, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Guardians, Marlins, Padres, Rangers, Rays, Reds, Royals, Tigers, and Twins.

A similar situation has arisen with Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns AT&T SportsNet and is a minority owner of Root Sports. It was reported last month that Warner was planning to get out of the RSN business, which would have implications for the Rockies, Astros and Pirates, though not the Mariners. Warner only owns 40% of Root Sports Seattle with the Mariners owning the other 60%. Kosman’s report indicates the league plans to take over those broadcasts eventually as well, though not by Opening Day.

This is a fluid situation and many of the details are still being worked out, but it’s possible there is a sea change approaching in how Major League Baseball delivers its broadcasts to its fans. Most out-of-market games are available to paying subscribers via MLB TV, though these RSN deals have always taken precedent, leading to blackouts that prevent fans from watching their local club on the platform. Many fans have been critical of the way these blackouts are applied, with some subscribers saying that their home is covered by various overlapping blackout areas. The people of Iowa, for instance, have often complained that they can’t watch games featuring the Cubs, White Sox, Cardinals, Twins, Royals or Brewers. That’s an extreme example but highlights the sorts of issues with the current system. Manfred has expressed a desire to move to a new system that would allow customers to purchase broadcasts regardless of where they are, though it’s unclear how long it would take to get such a model in place.

Whenever that new system is in place, it will also have implications for the finances for teams. These RSN deals have long been a significant source of club revenue that seems to now be drying up. Streaming will present new revenues sources, of course, and already has. The league has previously agreed to lucrative deals with streaming platforms like Apple and NBC and may strike other deals in the future.

For now, it seems the immediate concern is making sure that the broadcasts for the 2023 season are maintained. Kosman reports that the league plans to retain current local announcers for any broadcasts that it takes over and it doesn’t seem as though there are any current concerns of games being missed. Assuming the league is successful in all of these plans, it’s possible that fans won’t notice much difference in their baseball consumption here this year, but the field may be wide open for changes down the line.

MLBTR Poll: Who Will Win The AL West?

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The AL West, despite being home to the reigning World Series champions, figures to be among the more competitive divisions in the sport in 2023. According to the Playoff Odds at Fangraphs, it is the only division with four teams that have a better than 10% chance to win the division title in the coming campaign. All five clubs in the division have seen significant changes to their rosters over the course of the offseason. With Spring Training now in full swing and the heavy-lifting of the offseason largely done at this point, it let’s take a look at the AL West’s five clubs in search of the division’s next champion.

Houston Astros (106-56 in 2022)

En route to their 2022 World Series championship, the Astros had a phenomenal season, with AL Cy Young award winner Justin Verlander leading the pitching staff while each of Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker, and Alex Bregman received MVP votes for their work in the starting lineup. The hitting corps didn’t change very drastically during the offseason, though they did upgrade at first base by replacing departing free agent Yuli Gurriel with longtime White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu. The pitching staff saw more significant change, as Verlander departed for New York while Houston was unable to sign a proper replacement for their staff ace over the offseason.

While Houston lost Verlander to free agency this offseason, the rotation still figures to have plenty of capable arms, with Framber Valdez set to take over as the new staff ace while youngster Cristian Javier looks to follow up on a breakout campaign in 2022. Both Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. have tantalizing upside, though each comes with question marks, and Jose Urquidy can be expected to be a reliable back-end starter for the Astros once again as well. One catalyst for Houston’s rotation could be top prospect Hunter Brown. Brown, who will play this season at age 24, dominated in his big league debut at the end of last season, posting a microscopic 0.89 ERA that was backed by a fantastic 1.98 FIP in 20 1/3 innings of work, though only 12 of those innings came as a starter. The young righty seems to be in prime position to make the Opening Day rotation with McCullers expected to start the season on the shelf.

Seattle Mariners (90-72 in 2022)

The Mariners ended the league’s longest playoff drought last season, earning a wild card berth and advancing to the ALDS before falling to Houston in a 3 game sweep. Seattle looks to improve on that performance in 2023, as the club added Teoscar Hernandez, Kolten Wong, and AJ Pollock to the lineup this offseason and expects to get a full season from ace Luis Castillo, who was acquired from the Reds at the trade deadline last year. That said, the club did lose some key players over the offseason as well: Mitch Haniger and Adam Frazier departed via free agency while Erik Swanson, Kyle Lewis, Jesse Winker, and Abraham Toro were among the players who departed in the club’s various trades this offseason.

Minimal prospect talent is expected to impact the big league club this season in Seattle, leaving the Mariners to rely on their aforementioned external additions and improvements from their returning players if they are to catch the Astros in the standings. Former top prospect Jarred Kelenic should get some run in left field to open the season in order to prove he has returned to form after struggling to this point in his big league career, while Robbie Ray will surely be looking to recapture the magic of his 2021 Cy Young season. Meanwhile, other players such as youngsters Julio Rodriguez and George Kirby as well as breakout catcher Cal Raleigh merely need to repeat their strong 2022 campaigns in order to contribute to a winning Mariners club this season.

Los Angeles Angels (73-89 in 2022)

The 2023 season stands as the last one during which the Angels will have two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani under club control, as he is set to hit free agency following the coming campaign. Given the urgency of the club’s situation, it’s no wonder than GM Perry Minasian was aggressive in his attempts to supplement the roster with quality depth. He appears to have been largely successful in that endeavor, having added Tyler Anderson, Matt Moore, and Carlos Estevez to the pitching staff while supplementing the lineup with Gio Urshela, Brandon Drury, and Hunter Renfroe. Those pitching deals rebuilt the back of a Halos bullpen that lost Raisel Iglesias in trade to the Braves last offseason while supplementing the rotation with a durable, mid-rotation starter. That being said, the offensive additions were the main attraction of Anaheim’s offseason, as they transformed what has for years amounted to something of a stars and scrubs lineup by providing manager Phil Nevin with the quality depth necessary to weather injuries to the club’s many stars.

Those stars, of course, will remain the focus of the club, as Ohtani and Mike Trout stand as perhaps the two best players in the entire sport while Anthony Rendon will look to live up to his $245MM contract after struggling with injuries in recent years. Still, other players emerged as quality regulars in 2022 as well, including Patrick Sandoval, Reid Detmers, Taylor Ward, and Luis Rengifo. Bounce-back seasons from any of Max Stassi, Jared Walsh, or David Fletcher would improve the club’s depth even more, to say nothing of the possibility that longtime top prospect Jo Adell finally lives up to his potential. Overall, there’s certainly reason to think this might finally be the year that Trout and Ohtani suit up together in the postseason, even though the club enters the season looking up at many of its division rivals in terms of playoff odds.

Texas Rangers (68-94 in 2022)

The Rangers had a second consecutive explosive offseason this winter as they completely transformed their big league rotation by adding Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Andrew Heaney, and Jake Odorizzi as starting options while retaining Martin Perez. The hitting corps stayed largely the same after Corey Seager and Marcus Semien joined the club last offseason, though Texas did add Robbie Grossman to their outfield mix and expects to get contributions from top prospect Josh Jung this year at third base.

With a solid bullpen that features Brock Burke, Jose LeClerc, and new addition Will Smith among its back-end options, the Rangers figure to be set up well in that regard. The lineup should be decent, if not awe-inspiring, as it Nathaniel Lowe and Adolis Garcia in addition to Seager and Semien, while Mitch Garver and Jonah Heim form an interesting duo behind the plate and Leody Taveras figures to contribute in center upon his return from an oblique strain later this year. The answer to just how far this Rangers club will be able to go surely lies in the health and production of the reconstructed rotation, which added the most dominant pitcher in baseball in deGrom and plenty of upside in Heaney and Eovaldi, though all three pitchers have struggled badly with injuries at various points throughout their careers. Should that front three remain healthy and effective, though, this Rangers team could certainly pitch its way into the postseason for the first time since 2016.

Oakland Athletics (60-102 in 2022)

The A’s were among the worst teams in baseball last season, and there’s little reason for fans in Oakland to have more optimism about the coming campaign. After sending Frankie Montas to the Yankees at the trade deadline last year, the A’s saw the departures of catcher Sean Murphy, starter Cole Irvin, and reliever A.J. Puk in trades this offseason while the club added young, unproven talent such as Esteury Ruiz, JJ Bleday, Kyle Muller, and Freddy Tarnok. Some quality players do remain on the roster, however, as the A’s have retained each of Ramon Laureano, Shea Langeliers, Paul Blackburn, Tony Kemp, and Seth Brown to this point.

Oakland also added a few veteran options in free agency during the offseason, picking up Jace Peterson, Aledmys Diaz, Jesus Aguiler, and Trevor May throughout the offseason. The highlight of the A’s offseason seems to be Shintaro Fujinami, who was posted to the MLB this offseason by the NPB’s Hanshin Tigers. Fujinami has tantalizing stuff, including a fastball that can touch over 100 mph, but has struggled with his control throughout his career. Even if the A’s are able to unlock Fujinami’s potential, however, it seems extremely unlikely that the club will be able to compete with the four clubs its looking up at in the AL West.

_______________________________

While the Astros, as the reigning champions of not only the AL West but MLB itself, appear to be the favorite entering the 2023 season, each of the Mariners, Angels, and Rangers have plausible paths to not only contention but, perhaps, even the AL West crown headed into 2023. Though the same can’t be said for the Athletics, a four-team division race is sure to bring about excitement in the division all throughout the year.

What do you think? Will the Astros recapture the AL West crown for the sixth straight full season? Will the Mariners take another step forward and win their first AL West title since 2001? Will the Angels or Rangers leapfrog their competitors after a big offseason? Or will the Athletics surprise the baseball world against all odds? Let us know in the poll below.

(poll link for app users)

Arte Moreno Discusses Spending, Offseason Moves, Ohtani, Decision To Keep Angels

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Angels owner Arte Moreno surprised the baseball world in January when he announced that his family was ending its exploratory steps towards selling the franchise.  Five months earlier, Moreno announced that he was looking into the possibility of selling the Angels, and it seemed as though the sale process was going rather smoothly before Moreno somewhat suddenly reversed course.

“When you got right down to it, I didn’t want to go,” Moreno told Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci as part of a wide-ranging interview.  “I just had the whole personal talk with myself.  You know, you have a lot of time to think about it.  I’m walking these [bidders] around the stadium. We’re on the field, looking around the stadium and I’m thinking, ’How many guys ever get a chance to do this?’ “

Moreno said he received three bids from MLB-vetted potential buyers, and all of those bids were at least $2.62 billion in price.  This would have been a new record high for a Major League franchise, topping the $2.42 billion that Steve Cohen spent to buy the Mets in 2020.  However, Moreno said the finances didn’t outweigh his desire to keep the team, and he related an anecdote about how even one of the potential buyers said “I see in your eyes that you don’t look like you’re ready to sell” when Moreno and this unnamed buyer were touring Angel Stadium.  If a sale had gone through, Moreno said he was planning to retain a minority share of the Angels, “five to ten percent is what I was thinking.”

As to his initial decision to consider a sale, Moreno didn’t specifically state a reason, other than “it was more circumstantial than it was a change of heart” about his love for baseball.  In May 2022, the Anaheim City Council voted against a proposal to sell 150 acres of land around Angel Stadium to Moreno’s management company, and the deal became shrouded in scandal when the FBI launched an investigation into former Anaheim mayor Harry Sidhu on allegations of corruption and insider information related to the sale.

With the assumption of a sale hanging over the Angels as the offseason began, the club still had a very active winter, spending over $78MM in free agent signings.  $37MM of that money went onto the 2023 books, the Angels are on pace for a notable payroll increase — after finishing the 2022 season with roughly $180MM in spending, Los Angeles is projected to spend roughly $212.2MM on player salaries in 2023.

While the team’s winter may have been lacking in true headline signings, Moreno said that he had interest in trying to land another superstar free agent in Trea Turner.  However, with GM Perry Minasian noting the Angels’ several needs beyond just the shortstop position, Moreno said the offseason became “about the distribution of money.  Is it one player who makes a splash?  Or is it, ‘Hey, we can spend this money on two or three players.’ ”

To this end, Moreno disagrees with criticism that the Angels aren’t willing to invest in their payroll, noting that the club is regularly among the top 10 payrolls in the league.  “I can’t tell you we’ve always spent the money right, but we spent money,” Moreno said.  “So, if anybody that criticizes me that I’m not committed to winning, well, I am committed to winning.”

As Moreno himself noted, the allocation of that money has often backfired on the Angels, contributing to the club’s run of five consecutive losing seasons and only one postseason appearance in the last 13 seasons.  But, while spending isn’t itself an issue, Anaheim fans have often argued that Moreno hasn’t spent enough, since the team has only once exceeded the luxury tax threshold since the owner bought the team in 2003.  Roster Resource estimates that the Angels’ current Competitive Balance Tax number is roughly $226.75MM, which is under the $233MM threshold.

The CBT appears to be a matter of principle for Moreno, to the point that he was one of four owners who voted against raising the tax thresholds in the most recent set of collective bargaining agreement negotiations.  Moreno doesn’t begrudge teams like the Mets or Dodgers for their big spending, saying “I like the fact that people want to win.  But I just would like everybody to have a chance.  Like if somebody came to my house [for a card game] and everybody is putting a thousand dollars in and one guy puts in a hundred, I mean, how many hands can he play? It’s just no fun.  So, if you want to spend four hundred [million], then you should be taxed.  It is taxed, but to me it’s just not enough.  Clearly, it’s not enough.”

Such financial matters loom large given that Shohei Ohtani will be a free agent following the 2023 season, and there is an expectation that the two-way star will command a record-setting contract (perhaps even surpassing $500MM).  Moreno told Jon Heyman of the New York Post last month that he hoped to keep Ohtani in an Angels uniform, but money aside, Moreno said to both Heyman and Verducci that Anaheim’s chances of keeping Ohtani could hinge on whether or not the team can be competitive.

Moreno personally vetoed the idea of trading Ohtani at last year’s trade deadline, and he told Verducci that “we had five real offers for” the superstar.  But, beyond the team’s desire to retain Ohtani beyond 2023, Moreno felt there was more of a bigger-picture aspect to hanging onto such a unique player.  “People ask me, ’Shouldn’t you get something?’  But we get to see him every day.  That’s not nothing.  These people get to come and watch the best players.  They’re going to tell their grandkids, ’I saw Ohtani play.’ ”

The owner’s trade veto seems to still be in effect for now, as Moreno stated that “I will say it on the record, we will not trade Ohtani while we are contending for a playoff spot.”  As to whether or not the Angels would entertain offers if they were out of contention, Moreno didn’t consider the possibility, saying “we expect to be a playoff contender.  Everything in our plans putting this team together is about getting to the playoffs.  So, I’m not going to sit here and wonder what happens in an outcome we’re not planning for.  That would be like a fighter going into the ring and thinking, ’What if I lose?’ If he does that, he will lose.”

Albert Pujols Interested In Future Coaching Opportunitites

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Retired slugger Albert Pujols swung by Cardinals camp today and spoke to some members of the media, including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Pujols said that he thinks there’s a coaching role in his future, but not for a few more years.

It’s not surprising that Pujols want to ease his way into the next stage of his life, as he spent the past 22 seasons playing pretty much every day in the majors. He racked up 3,384 hits in that time, including 703 home runs, over 3,080 major league games. Though that lengthy career surely gives him plenty of wisdom to impart to younger players, it’s understandable that he’s not rushing to get back into the dugout and on the road for a full season.

It also seems like he will take some time to suss out which roles he likes best, as part of his new role with the Angels. The ten-year, $254MM contract he signed with the Angels in 2011 included a ten-year personal services contract. Although the club eventually designated him for assignment and he moved on to the Dodgers and returned to the Cardinals, Pujols has maintained his intention to hold up his end of that bargain. He reported to Angels camp last month and said he plans to serve as a special instructor during the spring before heading to the Dominican Republic this summer to assist with the club’s prospects.

“Whatever Perry and the organization need, I’m here to help out,” Pujols said to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com at that time, referring to general manager Perry Minasian. “I’m just trying to assist him, but it’s not my job to be in the front office. It’s more about working with younger guys however I can.” Today, Pujols told Goold that his role with the Angels will allow him to explore the coaching side of the game. It seems Pujols will take his time trying on a few new hats before deciding which one he wants to put on more permanently.

View The Transcript Of Today’s Chat With Former MLB All-Star Pitcher Dan Haren

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Dan Haren joined MLBTR readers for a chat Wednesday evening.  Click here to view the transcript.  If you’re a current or former MLB player who would like to do a chat here, contact us!

Dan Haren was drafted in the second round in 2001 by the Cardinals out of Pepperdine.  He reached the Majors in June of 2003, throwing a quality start against Barry Bonds and the Giants.

Haren spent the bulk of the following season at Triple-A, rejoining the big league club late in the season and moving in and out of the rotation.  He wound up pitching in five games during the postseason that year, including two scoreless outings in the World Series.

After the ’04 season, the Cardinals traded Haren, Daric Barton, and Kiko Calero to the A’s for Mark Mulder.  Haren quickly became a horse in Oakland’s rotation, and by the end of his first season with the A’s he signed a four-year extension covering his arbitration years worth $12.65MM.  From 2005-07 with the A’s, Haren made 34 starts each year and totaled 662 2/3 innings.  The 2006 A’s won the AL West and made it to the ALCS, with Haren making two postseason starts and winning one of them.

In 2007, Haren stepped into the leadership void left by Barry Zito’s departure, getting the Opening Day nod and starting for the AL All-Star team.  However, after that season the A’s and GM Billy Beane went into a rebuild, shipping Haren to the Diamondbacks for Brett Anderson, Carlos Gonzalez, Chris Carter, Aaron Cunningham, Dana Eveland, and Greg Smith.  Haren joined a D-backs rotation that already had Brandon Webb and Randy Johnson.

2008 was another excellent All-Star season for Haren, in which he led the NL in strikeout to walk ratio.  Before that season ended, Haren signed a new extension with Arizona potentially running through 2013.  His excellence continued in ’09, as Haren finished fifth in the Cy Young voting and again led the league in strikeout to walk ratio.

However, at the 2010 trade deadline, Haren was on the move in a blockbuster trade for the third time in his career.  This time he was headed to the Angels for Patrick Corbin, Joe Saunders, Rafael Rodriguez, and Tyler Skaggs.  He continued his dominance in 2011, leading the league in strikeout to walk ratio yet again and finishing seventh in the Cy Young voting.

After the 2012 season, Haren was nearly traded to the Cubs for Carlos Marmol, but Chicago balked and the Angels declined his club option.  Reaching free agency for the first time in his career, MLBTR ranked Haren eighth on our top 50 list.  He inked a one-year deal with the Nationals that winter.  After a difficult season in D.C. (by his lofty standards), Haren landed closer to home with another one-year deal, this time with the Dodgers.  Upon reaching 180 innings for the Dodgers, a $10MM player option vested for 2015, and Haren exercised it.

Another season with the Dodgers was not in the cards for Haren, however, and he landed with the Marlins as part of blockbuster trade number four.  That was hardly Haren’s preference, but the Marlins hung onto him until they shipped him to the Cubs at the ’15 trade deadline.  Rather than explore free agency again, Haren chose to hang up his cleats at the age of 35.

Over the seven-year span from 2005-11, Haren was one of the very best starting pitchers in Major League Baseball.  His WAR total of 33.2 during that time ranked fourth in baseball, and his innings total ranked second.  Though he typically topped out around 92 miles per hour in his prime, Haren was a master of command and an old-school horse.  He pitched at least 216 innings in each of those seven seasons, and his total of 1,581 1/3 was topped only by CC Sabathia.  Haren finished his career with three All-Star appearances, two top-seven Cy Young finishes, 153 wins, and a 3.75 ERA.

In recent years, Haren has served as a “pitching strategist” for the Diamondbacks, in which he “provides advance scouting reports and guidance to the club’s pitchers to maximize results on the mound.”  You can find him on Twitter @ithrow88.  That’s exactly what we did, and Dan graciously accepted our invitation to chat with MLBTR readers.  Click here to join in!

Angels Hire Kurt Suzuki For Special Assistant Role

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The Angels have hired longtime catcher Kurt Suzuki as a special assistant to GM Perry Minasian, the team announced.  Suzuki moves into this new phase of his baseball career just months after ending his on-field endeavors, as he retired after the 2022 campaign.

Suzuki spent the last two of his 16 Major League seasons with the Angels, and he was also a member of the Braves in 2017-18 when Minasian was hired as Atlanta’s assistant general manager in September 2017.  When Suzuki announced his retirement in September, he said that he’d be interested in a new role “wherever I can help out” within the Angels organization.

The hiring continues Suzuki’s longstanding ties to the SoCal area, as beyond his two seasons with the Angels, he also played his college ball at Cal State Fullerton.  He made the move up to Northern California when he was a second-round pick for the Athletics in the 2004 draft, and Suzuki ended up playing 718 of his 1635 MLB games in an Oakland uniform.  Suzuki’s career highlights include an All-Star selection as a member of the Twins in 2014, and a World Series ring with the 2019 Nationals as Suzuki and Yan Gomes split catching duties for the champs.

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